Fr. Bob's Corner

Four Year Old (out of the mouths’ of babes)

A mother invited a few of her neighbors over for a dinner party. The day turned out to be blistering hot. Finally, freshened and make-up applied, she sat at her table as hostess. With a welcoming smile she turned to her 4 year old son, Johnny, whose brilliance she wanted to show off to her neighbors. “Johnny,” she said, “please say the blessing.”

“I don’t know what to say,” said Johnny. “Oh, just say what you hear me say,” she encouraged.

Johnny reluctanly bowed his head, folded his hands over his heart, closed his eyes, and prayed, “Oh Lord, why did I invite these stuffy people over on such a hot humid day” (more…)

Strange as this title may be, it does not condone sin, but points to moments of conversion. The following is an excerpt from an email sent by Sr. Joan Chittister to subscribers to Benetvision.

“It is not that sin is not sin. It is simply that sin is not the end of the world?and, in fact, may actually be the beginning of a number of things that can be gained hardly any other way in life and without which life is a pitiful place. A bout with greed may be precisely what teaches us the freedom of poverty. A struggle with lust may well be what, in the end, teaches us about the real nature of love. A strong dose of anger may be what it takes to teach us the beauty of gentleness.

There are, in other words, things to be learned from sin. One is compassion. Another is understanding. A third is humility. A fourth is perception. Without the ability to own our own sins, these qualities are all hard to come by indeed.

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Most of you know that I visit my family’s property in Quebec fairly often. I arrived at my cabin in the woods late this Advent Sunday afternoon feeling pretty rotten. I’d been on antibiotics for a couple of weeks and seemed to be coming down with a new bug – aching and feverish. After a restless night’s sleep, I looked out the window on Monday to discover over two feet of fresh snow, and no signs of the snow plow. Next day, feeling a bit better, I had to get busy. This is a series of photos I posted on facebook (sort of like one long Christmas Card)Â for family and friends. My sister, who now lives in Switzerland, suggested I join this summer, so that I could keep in touch. Here it is.